COACHES PRAISE OLYMPIC PREPARATION CENTRE

The Jordan Olympic Committee’s (JOC) newly operational Olympic Preparation Centre (OPC) has drawn huge praise from national team coaches who have been experiencing the world-class facility for the first time.

The OPC has been created as a centre of sporting excellence for Jordan’s elite athletes to train and prepare for major international events, and it has already proved a big hit.

Among those to have used the facility was the Karate team ahead of their competition this weekend in Spain, and Head Coach, Mohammad Ibrahim, said it was ideal and provided a much-needed boost for sport.

“The OPC is the biggest thing that has been done for Jordan sport, in my opinion,” he said.

“I was pleasantly surprised to see how well the team there deal with athletes and coaches by looking after the smallest of details.

“It has introduced a more professional and scientific edge to sport in Jordan which is very much appreciated.”

Fellow Karate Coach, Nael Oweimer, added that the OPC was “bringing out the best from our athletes because the environment is so much more welcoming for them to train in”.

The facility includes a dining hall, training halls, entertainment hall, gym, medical room and other facilities to serve athletes.

Sleeping quarters are being added so that overseas delegations can also hire the facility, as well as enable athletes from outside of Amman to stay. Taekwondo Head Coach, Faris Al Assaf is another happy coach.

“We, like all other sports, were suffering from the shortage of training halls, but now it is totally different,” he said.

The Table Tennis team recently based themselves there for a camp and Coach, Amro Reda, described the OPC as his “land of dreams”.

“It’s the first of its kind here in Jordan and puts us ahead of many Arab countries who don’t have such a facility. It has been prepared to international standards, and is exceptional.”